Why does everything have to be pink?
by Cariad
Summary: Booth interupts one of Bones' rare shopping trips with news of a case. Please note that the rating has changed this only applies to chapters 7 and 8.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Bones and all its lovely characters belong to someone else.

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The two friends were sitting in the corner of a coffee shop, sipping two very large hot chocolates. Coats, scarves and hats were piled on a spare chair next to them, along with several bags of shopping. Outside, it was bitterly cold and people hurried from one warm shop to another. The coffee shop was their final pitstop before working up the courage to get back out in the cold and make their way home. 

Temperance glared at the heart shaped cookie, which had come with her drink, "Why assume that everyone wants a heart-shaped cookie at this time of year? Not all of us want to get caught up in a festival with shaky historical foundations and which has become poorly concealed money making opportunity for retailers."

"Sweetie, the cookie was free. It's cold in February, people like something to cheer them up. It's romantic!" Angela enthused, dunking her cookie in her drink.

Temperance sighed and tried to stir the cream into the chocolate, "But why does everything have to be pink? Practically every store we've been in has had pink cupids, pink hearts, pink flowers in the window."

"Pink is cute. It's a happy colour." Angela said with a smile.

"I take it you have a date for Tuesday evening?" Temperance asked.

"Uh-huh. Really cute too. It's great, it falls on our third week anniversary."

"Please tell me you're kidding when you say that?"

Angela laughed, "Oh come on, you must have marked some milestones in your relationships?"

Temperance raised her eyebrows and was about to reply, when she felt her phone start to vibrate. She reached into her pocket and pulled it out, checking the caller ID. Angela was surprised at the smile that lit up Temperance's features as she flipped open her phone.

She pressed receive and said, "Hi Booth."

Angela hid a grin, _that explained Tempe's rapid improvement in mood_ - she'd bet that Tempe wouldn't be complaining about hearts, flowers or pink if the Special Agent made a move on Tuesday.

"Hey Bones, you psychic or what?" came the familiar voice down the phone and sent a strange tingle through her body.

"No, it's modern technology. Caller ID. And don't call me Bones."

"Sorry." Booth was sitting at his desk in the FBI's downtown office. His sleeves were rolled up and the first couple of buttons were open on his shirt and his tie was knotted loosely. He looked tired, but was enjoying he conversation enough to smile.

"No, you're not. Why are you calling on Saturday anyway?"

"Can't I call my favourite forensic anthropologist if I want to?" Booth asked, then looked at the case file open on his desk and his expression sobered.

"I'm your only forensic anthropologist, Booth." _Unlike the posse of pretty lawyers that seem to trail after you _she thought and then clamped her lips shut in case she articulated that thought.

"True, I've got a case. You don't need to do anything this weekend, but I will need to talk to you first thing on Monday about it."

Temperance squashed the feeling of disappointment she felt when he mentioned the case and asked, "Then why are you calling me now? You could tell me this on Monday."

At the other end of the line Booth sat forward in his chair and looked uncomfortable, "Well... I wanted to warn you... So you could add it into your planning for the week. I mean you're in the Jeffersonian now right?"

"No. I'm sitting in a coffee bar, with a hot chocolate - which is going cold I might add - rudely ignoring Angela while I talk to you. About work."

Booth winced, "Sorry, forget I said anything. Enjoy the day off - the novelty should be good in itself. I'll see you on Monday. Say hi to Angela for me."

"Hey, wait a second before you hang up, are you in your office?"

"Uh-huh."

"Fine, I'll call over in half an hour. We're done with shopping and you can fill me in then. Bye Booth."

"No Bones, enjoy your day off..." he stopped talking as he realised that the line had gone dead. He pressed his brow with a thumb and forefinger_. Great, now Bones is coming here!_ He looked up at the ceiling, who was he kidding? He'd called her because he wanted to talk to her, but seeing her was better. If only there wasn't this weird case for them to look into. Then he shrugged, if there was no case then there was no chance he would be talking to Bones on a Saturday. He picked up his coffee mug and walked towards the drinks machine, wondering how on earth his relationship with Bones had gotten so damned complicated.

Temperance put the phone down and knowing that Anglea had her arms folded and was about to switch into interogation mode.

"What? We are done shopping. I can just pop in to see Booth... er that is pop in to talk about the case on my way home."

"Whatever you say sweetie," Angela said, fighting to keep a straight face, "But try not to let the case take over your weekend!"

(TBC)


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks very much for the reviews - hope you like this chapter.

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"I'm Dr Temperance Brennan and I have an appointment with Special Agent Seeley Booth," Temperance said, holding up her ID card for inspection at the security checkpoint. The guard took her pass and noted the reference number and checked her name off on a list of expected visitors. 

"Thank you Dr Brennan. Cold one today isn't it? Do you know your way up?" He queried handing the pass back.

Temperance nodded and smiled thank you as the gate was buzzed open and she walked through into the large atrium. The elevators were in the far corner, as she waited she could see that quite a few lights were on in the offices lining the large open space. Unsurprisingly the FBI didn't get to take weekends off.

The elevator pinged and the doors opened, she stepped in and pushed the button for Booth's floor. The inside was mirrored and glancing at her reflection, she realised that the freezing wind had reddened her cheeks, although her woollen hat and scarf had covered most of her head. She rubbed her cheek absently before realising that it was unlikely to help.

Arriving on Booth's floor she made her way down the corridor towards his office, counting off the doors as she went. Each office had glass panels along the corridor, so if the resident hadn't closed their blinds, you could see in. It always intrigued her to see the subtly different decor and clutter in each office. The details of the personalisation of each room said something about its occupant, and the general principle said something more profound about humanity's need to claim space and define it as theirs. She paused outside Booth's door. He was engrossed in the papers on his desk, supporting his head on his left hand and jotting notes. Even from a distance, and with his face largely obscured, she could tell he was tired. There was something in the slump of his shoulders, the way his hair had ruffled up through his fingers and the loosened tie that told her that all was not well. As she watched, she felt a strange desire to smooth his hair back and give him a hug. She bit her lip - these were not appropriate thoughts to have about her partner - Booth would be horrified if he realised what she was thinking.

She decided she better knock before she had any even more wildly inappropriate thoughts, when he looked up. She was sure she hadn't made a sound, but put it down to the strange awareness they seemed to have of one and other's presence.

Booth smiled tiredly in greeting and stood up to wave her in, "Afternoon Bones. Like the hat. Coffee?"

Temperance glared and folded her arms, still standing in the doorway.

"What? The crack about the hat? Or calling you Bones?" Booth smiled a bit wider, "Sorry. Reading case files always makes me cranky. Especially if its a Saturday. Come on, take a seat and I'll get you a coffee." He waved a mug at her.

Despite her best efforts a smile broke through, "Coffee would be great." she said with a shiver, stepping into the room and taking off her gloves.

Booth moved out from behind his desk carrying two mugs in one hand. He stopped as he passed her and reached out to clasp her hands in his larger one. "Your hands are freezing! Go stand by the radiator." He pointed to across the room, "Be back in a minute."

Temperance stared after him in confusion. Random physical contact was not normally part of their routine. After depositing her shopping, she hung her coat and scarf on a hook behind her and stuffed her hat and gloves into a pocket. She then perched on top of the radiator trying to get warm.

Booth's mind was wandering as he waited for the coffee to dispense. _It's good to see Bones,_ he thought, _and she had looked __really cute all wrapped up against the elements. Her fitted coat, with its nipped in waist, really showed of her figure._ The beep of the coffee machine brought him back to the present and when he looked up guiltily as he realised the inappropriate direction his thoughts had been taking him.

As he walked into his office, he grinned as he spotted Bones practically sat on the radiator, _that had to be one of the first times that she had ever done what he suggested._ He handed the coffee over to her and wheeled his chair round to her side of the desk.

"So what d'you buy today?" He asked.

Temperance looked at him, "Umm well, a couple of books, a skirt in the sale and er...," she trailed off, looking nervously that the pile of shopping bags "You know - stuff."

Booth's eyes flicked between her face and the shopping bags, his investigative instinct piqued by her obvious embarrassment. He then spotted the edge of what looked like a Victoria's Secret bag and grinned.

"What?" Temperance demanded.

"Nothing - wouldn't want to pry into your _intimate_ purchases." he replied innocently.

Temperance glared at him, but decided that there was no graceful way to deal with the conversation, "Let's talk about the case, and why you're in here on a Saturday."

Booth shrugged, "Case is a bit unusual. About month a ago up in Pennsylvania, a lady called Janet Johnson was buried after a short illness. Apparently she had a lovely funeral with a lot of friends and family there to mourn her. Over the next couple of days other people got sick and it emerged that they had all eaten at the same hotel over a three day period. Food poisoning was suspected. A decision was taken to exhume Mrs Johnson's body to confirm whether she was the first fatality from the outbreak. Only when they opened up her grave. She wasn't in there."

Temperance raised an eyebrow, "Not in the grave?"

"Nope. An elderly gentleman by the name of..." he paused to check his notes, "...Victor Davies was. Only his family had stood around a different grave while he was buried the week before. And Ms Johnson wasn't in that one either. The cemetery records are non existent. So far, ten graves have been opened up, only four of which have the correct occupants. One was empty and two had multiple bodies in." Booth paused to take a swig of his coffee. "The families are up in arms and have demanded that all the graves under three years old are opened up. The local authorities are resisting that, but are opening them up sequentially in the hope that they can find all the missing bodies and put them where they should be."

"Where do we come in?" Temperance asked guardedly.

"Well the local authorities have pretty much no credibility with the families for obvious reasons. So they've asked for some help in verifying their identification protocol and assistance with any, er, difficult to ascertain cases. The FBI is also interested, in that we want to make sure that all the people they do find are supposed to be in the graveyard in the first place."

"So you're not expecting my team to identify 100 plus bodies?"

Booth shook his head, "Even if they have to go back three years, it's only around 85 cases and you just need to do some QA work and help out if they have any difficult ones."

Temperance nodded in acquiescence, "Okay. We can manage that. Any idea why all the mix ups?"

Booth shrugged, "Nothing definite, but all the evidence so far seems to point to incompetence, not anything more sinister."

Temperance's eyes narrowed suddenly, "Booth, is this the case you're working on in here today?"

He nodded, gesturing towards the papers on his desk.

"It's not that urgent to need you to work weekends, surely?" She was surprised when he tried to avoid her gaze, "What aren't you telling me?"

"I've told you everything about the case - read the file if you like." He retorted rubbing his eyes with his hand.

Now she knew something was wrong, she couldn't help herself, "Booth, what is it? You look exhausted and don't tell me it's the case."

Booth felt a jolt at the concern in her voice, "It's just been a bad week, Bones. Sometimes work is the best place to come to get away from it."

There was a quiet sense of defeat in his voice, which was so unlike him that Temperance instinctively she reached over and gently took his hand, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Booth's eyes jumped from her hand to her face and back again and he found that he couldn't have prevented himself telling her even if he had wanted to, "Parker's Mom called on Tuesday." Temperance wheeled her chair a little closer and gave a sympathetic nod.

"She wanted to tell me that she was going away with her new boyfriend for ten days and that 'as I'd obviously be far too busy with work', Parker would be staying with his grand parents." Temperance could feel his hand ball into a fist and unconsciously started to stroke it, trying to relax him as he stared at the floor.

"She didn't need to call. She could have gone and I'd have been none wiser. She did it deliberately to make me feel bad that I wasn't going to get to spend time with my son. I told her I'd take time off. She said no. I told her maybe I could look after him this weekend. She said no. That her parents would be 'disappointed' as they were looking forward to seeing him." Booth paused, "They baby sit him everyday when she's at work!" He let out an explosive breath, "I try not to let it get to me, but he's my son... I haven't got much sleep the last couple of days."

At his words Temperance felt the strangest mixture of compassion, fury and protectiveness. She brushed his cheek gently with her free hand, "Booth, your son loves you. It's just really unfair that his mother is able to let whatever problems there were in your relationship affect your relationship with Parker." She swallowed, "I know what it's like to lose family and it makes me so angry to think of anyone deliberately trying to exclude a loving parent from a child's life."

Booth looked up into her beautiful green eyes at her words and for the first time in four days he didn't feel alone. They sat quietly, hands inter-twinned taking solace from the other's presence. Booth usually kept his feelings firmly in check but he knew that in his current state, if he wasn't careful, he would end up saying something that would change his relationship with Bones forever.

He gathered himself to start putting the barriers back up again, "Thanks Temperance. Sorry to spill like that, I guess I needed it though," he gently disengaged his hand and picked up his coffee.

Temperance's eyes widened slightly at the use of her full name, but she felt bereft when he let go of her hand. She guessed that Booth was uncomfortable with showing vulnerability.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, unsure how to break the awkward silence. Booth stood up and took refuge in the case, "So you okay to pick this case up on Monday?"

Temperance looked up at him nodding, wondering if he realised what his body language was giving away - _standing up to assert his authority and re-establish that their relationship was based on work_.

"Good - maybe we could visit the site Monday..?" He saw her shake of the head, "Tuesday?"

Temperance sighed internally, he was definitely all business, "Tuesday's fine. Give me a copy of the file and their protocols. I'll have them QA'd Monday and I'll run through it with their team on Tuesday."

"Great." Booth acknowledged.

She could see a ghost of an apology in his eyes and decided to forgive his suddenly formal demeanour, "I'd better be going," his head snapped round at that, "It is a Saturday after all." She put her coat on and took the file that Booth handed to her, but her hand lingered on his as he handed the file over, "Don't stay here all weekend Booth."

He stared at her silently.

"Please go home and try to relax."

Booth raised an eyebrow, "That's interesting advice from a workaholic."

She dismissed his comment with a wave, "I like working." Suddenly inspiration struck, "Have you eaten yet today?"

He thought for a minute then shook his head.

"Fine, put your coat on. Let's go get something to eat." Booth looked surprised but didn't move. Temperance gave him a little push in the back, "Come on Booth, it's half past five. You need to eat. You can't survive on coffee."

He was about to protest when he felt her arm slide around his waist and start to inch him forward. Feeling her warm skin pressed against him, he found himself nodding and pulling on his jacket.

In a couple of minutes they were both wrapped up against the winter evening. He tidied his desk and turned off the lights, and they made their way out of the building.

(TBC)


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for all the reviews - the case is (loosely) based on something that did happen in Wales. Although this chapter is plot-free fluff-zone...

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The bitter wind made Temperance gasp as they stepped outside the FBI building. It was even colder than it had been earlier. 

"Where are we going to eat?" Booth asked, his voice muffled by the dark blue scarf wrapped around his neck.

"Somewhere close. And warm." she said tugging his arm, "We can decide as we walk, I'm not standing still in this weather."

They walked across the street. The wind was whistling straight into their faces and Booth was sure he could spot a few specks of snow in the glare from the street lights. He had been planning on heading over to Foo Wongs, but the way Temperance's teeth were chattering he decided that the five block walk was a not going to happen. He knew there were a few good restaurants in the smaller streets across the way from the FBI building, although the weren't exactly the sort of place you went for a lunch break or a quick meal after work. _Well, that was where they were going to have to go, _he thought steering Temperance around a corner and into a side street lined with older buildings. The change of direction offered a bit of shelter from the wind and as they walked along, he spotted a tiny restaurant tucked into the basement just ahead. A warm, welcoming light spilling out of the window onto the courtyard in front.

He touched Bones' shoulder to get her attention, "What about there?" he pointed up the street.

Temperance nodded, "Anywhere that's not out here would be great. You been there before?"

Booth shook his head.

They picked up the pace and were soon peering at the menu on the wall outside. It was an Italian, with a great range of dishes, although it was a bit pricey. They looked at one and other.

"Let's try it." Booth said, "You look at risk of hypothermia."

Temperance huffed, but headed down the steps towards the door, Booth following behind.

Temperance pushed the outer door and studiously ignored the special Valentine's menu circled with little pink hearts, which was pinned to the wall on her left.

As she opened the inner door, she felt a wave of warm air; full of the of scents of garlic and cooking and a low hum of conversation. There was a small lecturn with a diary directly in front of the door. There wasn't much room to stand, but she didn't want to leave Booth out in the chilly entranceway or let the cold air in, so she reached back and grabbed his hand pulling him in close behind her. She felt her temperature rising rapidly as Booth's hand came to rest lightly on her hip and she was acutely aware of his warm body pressed against her back.

She was considering pulling away, when a waiter appeared in front of her.

"Do you have a reservation ma'am?" he asked.

"I'm afraid not, do you have a table available?"

The waiter checked the bookings and nodded, "Yes, we have one table available. Would you follow me?" He picked up two menus and moved off into the dining area.

Following behind, Temperance started to take in some of the details of the restaurant. It had quite a low ceiling, hung with vines and old bottles. The lighting was quite dim, although each table was bathed in a pool of candlelight. Temperance caught her lower lip between her teeth, as she realised that most tables were full and they were nearly all single tables for couples. She wondered what Booth was making of it - it really wasn't the sort of place they would normally go to. She grimaced, _I bet this is exactly the sort of place he'd take Tessa. _

The waiter arrived at what was evidently their table, tucked away in fairly secluded corner. He lit the candle, and offered to take their coats and Temperance's shopping bags. As the waiter had his hands full, Booth pulled out Temperance's chair and then sat down opposite. The waiter somehow managed to hand over the menus despite the mountain of clothes and shopping he had over one arm and promised to return to take their order shortly.

Booth sat watching Temperance as she studied the menu. He realised that this meal didn't feel like any of the countless times they'd eaten out together on a case. He wondered if it was because he had opened up to her so completely earlier that everything felt different. Whatever the explanation, all he could think about was the way her red-gold hair shone the candle light and how good it felt to be sitting with her in a romantic restaurant. He wished he could see her face to get an idea of what she was thinking, but she hadn't looked up from the menu since she had sat down.

"So have you decided what you're going to eat?" he asked.

Temperance looked up with a start and found herself gazing into Booth's dark brown eyes. She tried to ignore the flutter in her chest as she replied, "Uh... soup, and arrabiata pasta. Things that'll warm me up! How about you?"

Booth looked quickly down at the menu, which he hadn't even opened, "Err, the soup sounds good. Then a steak." He paused for a moment, "Should we order a bottle of wine?"

Temperance found herself nodding without thinking and after a brief look at the wine list, they selected a good Bordeaux.

They sat in silence for a moment, Temperance watching as Booth took off his jacket and hung it over the back of his chair and then rolled up his sleeves revealing his muscular forearms. She knew she shouldn't stare, and certainly shouldn't be speculating about what the rest of his body looked like, but somehow couldn't turn away. The arrival of the waiter provided a welcome distraction.

"Would you like to order some drinks?" he asked.

"Actually I think we're ready to order." Temperance said checking with Booth who nodded. She reeled off their order, which the waiter noted it down, checking how Booth wanted his steak.

Again they lapsed into silence, but Booth had used the arrival of the waiter to gather his scattered wits enough to realise that one of them needed to start a conversation.

"So what're your plans for tomorrow? More shopping? Or is it back to the skeletons?"

Temperance gave a mock glare at his teasing tone, but then shook her head, "No. I have to work on my book." Booth didn't miss the frustrated set to her features as the mention of her book and was about to probe deeper when the waiter returned with their wine.

Booth paused for a moment and the picked up his glass in a toast, "To weekends - and people to share them with."

Temperance felt her face flush and her stomach lurch at his words. _Do not read anything into that statement!_ she repeated to herself, returning the toast automatically.

For his part, Booth was staring into the depths of his glass incredulous that he had actually spoken the second part of his toast aloud. _Get a grip! _He instructed himself firmly. _You are just friends. She is not interested._ His last thought brought him up short, forcing him to recognise that he most certainly was interested.

They both took a generous drink and then looked up at one and other shyly and Booth decided that he needed to steer the conversation onto to a safer topic.

"So what's up with the book?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Temperance replied with a frown.

"Well, when you said that had to work on it tomorrow you didn't sound very enthusiastic and you had that same look you get when I ask you to come away on a case."

"What look?" She demanded.

"You know, the frustrated 'I know it's important, but have all these other things I could be doing' look - usually accompanied by a fixed stare, slight frown and crossed arms." Booth replied with a cheeky grin.

"I do not do that!" She said, crossing her arms.

Booth raised his eyebrows challengingly, but didn't say anything. Temperance opened her mouth to protest again when she realised her arms were crossed. She casually changed position and laced her fingers together in front of her, but sighed as she saw Booth's grin widen, _she wasn't fooling anyone, _"Don't be mean. I don't make fun of your vacant 'you what' look that you get whenever I try to explain any science to you!"

"Hey don't bring me into this and stop trying to change the subject." Booth said with a grin, he paused and looked more serious, "Please, I've bored you with my problems today. You can tell me about your book."

Temperance picked up her glass and swirled the wine around in it as she started to speak, "It's just that my publishers are hassling me to get it finished, but I've got stuck in the middle because I know that a couple of chapters are not working out." She looked up to see Booth listening intently, "Normally I write the whole thing out in a really rough first draft and then edit, but I can't seem to get on with the rest because I know I'm going to have to completely re-write the earlier sections. If I knew what I wanted to write in place of the other chapters it would be fine, but I don't. It's really frustrating. So tomorrow I have to sit down and sort it out - or at least decide what I am going to change."

Booth looked at her sympathetically, "I amazed that you have time to write anything, the amount of time you spend at the Jeffersonian." Temperance felt herself blush slightly an the honest admiration in Booth's voice.

They continued to talk about her book and how she got into writing until the first course arrived.

"Soup's good." Booth commented and Temperance nodded.

As their dishes were cleared away, Temperance asked, "So what are you going to do tomorrow? Work? Catching up with Tessa?"

Booth looked up quickly, "Why would I be seeing Tessa?"

Temperance was taken aback by his sharp tone, "Well she is your girlfriend..." She trailed off as she saw that he was shaking his head.

"We broke up last month." He said stated simply.

"Oh.. Sorry... I didn't realise." She said in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, it's fine. Things hadn't being going all that well, what with the holiday thing and all. It was a relief really." Booth leant forward suddenly curious, "You _were_ there when Tessa said that she needed more space, yeah?"

Temperance looked blank, and Booth wondered how someone so smart could be so naive about some things, "Temperance, that phrase is code for 'it's over'. She moved all her stuff out the following day."

Temperance mouthed a silent 'Oh' and then started to apologise again, trying to ignore the inner voice that was exulting at Booth's unexpectedly single status.

He waved her apologies away and topped up their glasses.

"So what will you be doing tomorrow?" Temperance asked again.

He shrugged, "Not sure. Maybe catch a bit of the Olympics on TV. I've got a list of decorating chores I need to get on with in the house, but I'll only do those if I get desperate. Hey, I could help you with your book. You know, read through what you've done so far, offer a few tips?" He grinned at her horrified expression, "No?"

The conversation shifted onto their new case as the main courses arrived. They chatted as they ate.

"So, are you going to have a dessert?" Booth asked when they had finished. Temperance shook her head.

"Aw come on, you can't leave me eating one all alone." He wheedled.

"No, I didn't like any of the things on the menu."

"No way - everyone likes Tiramisu!" Booth said in mock horror.

"Not me. Actually there is another reason I don't want a dessert here." She hesitated and then went on, "One of my friends from Europe sent me a present in the mail yesterday - my favourite chocolate cake. I've been looking forward to eating it this evening."

"You get cakes, from Europe, in the mail?" Booth looked surprised.

"Only once a year. Tell you what, come back to my house this evening and I'll let you test it." Temperance's smile was infectious, "Seriously, you'll be converted."

"Okay, deal. I guess we'd better get the bill."

It only took a couple of moments to get waiter's attention. Booth insisted on paying for both of them, "Look, you came out to eat to cheer me up. It's my way of saying thank you."

When the waiter left with his card, he reached across and took her hand, "I really enjoyed myself. Thanks Tempe." Her features lit up at his touch and they found themselves leaning in closer, then the waiter returned with their coats and moment was broken.

It was snowing lightly as they stepped outside. Booth smiled affectionately as Temperance exclaimed in excitement. Her scarf was dangling off one shoulder about to fall off. He reached over and draped it round her, his arm resting gently across her shoulder. When she didn't shrug him off, he took that as tacit agreement even so, he could scarcely believe it when her arm snaked around his waist again as it had in his office. He had to fight the urge to turn her in his arms and kiss her, but he was terrified of pushing things too far.

They walked back towards the main street and hailed a cab.

It was a fairly short journey to Temperance's home. They sat in companionable silence, not quite touching but acutely aware of each other.

When the cab stopped Booth looked at Temperance, "Still offering to share this cake?" He sounded much less sure of himself than normal and Temperance realised that he was worried she was uncomfortable with what had happened earlier.

She smiled reassuringly and choked down her nerves, "Of course. You still up for it?"

Booth nodded, his throat dry - he wasn't sure if they were talking about cake or something else entirely.

He followed Temperance across the road to her door, through the increasingly heavy flurry of snow.

She flicked on the lights revealing a hallway dominated by large bookshelves. It was warm and decorated in bright, cheerful colours. Temperance kicked off her shoes. Booth followed suit and then followed her as she led the way into her living room. Booth was intrigued by the new insights that seeing her home provided. He got the sense that all the little items in the room had some special significance for Temperance.

He settled down on the couch and Temperance said, "I'll make us a drink - no caffeine as you need to get some sleep tonight." She headed off into the kitchen.

Booth relaxed on the comfy couch and could feel his eyes starting to drift shut. He was sitting diagonally taking up most of the space. He wanted to stay awake, but the warmth of the room and a sense of peace from the evening's events took hold.

Temperance walked in five minutes later to find a very tired FBI agent snoring quietly on her couch. She put her hands on her hips, wanting to feel annoyed, but she could only think how cute he looked as sleep eased all the tension out of his face.

She wandered over to him and whispered "Booth? Seeley are you asleep?"

He stirred slightly, seeming to smile as she said his name, but he didn't wake up. She didn't want to disturb him, but she felt bad about leaving him sleeping sitting up. He was sat at quite an angle, so it wasn't too difficult to lift his feet up onto the other end of the couch. He shifted into a more comfortable position and Temperance shook her head. She left the room to grab a couple of blankets from a cupboard upstairs. As she placed the blankets on top of him she couldn't resist brushing his face with her hand and stroking his hair. She snatched her hand back guiltily as he leant into her touch.

She sat in an armchair in the far corner of the room, staring at Booth's sleeping form and trying to work out her feelings for the handsome FBI agent.

(TBC)


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed.

* * *

As Booth slowly woke up, his sleepy mind wondered why his back was leaning against a cushioned wall. He was pretty sure his bed didn't normally have one. His eyes suddenly snapped open and he sat bolt upright. This was not his bed. In fact, looking around the dimly lit room, it wasn't even his house. Then he remembered, dinner with Temperance and back to her house for a drink, well a cake actually, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he'd sat down for a couple of minutes and fallen asleep. He screwed his eyes shut and smacked his forehand with his hand, not sure if he was trying to knock some sense into himself or in the hope that he'd wake up to find this was just a really embarrassing nightmare. He opened his eyes a crack - _same room, __he wasn't going to wake up, this was reality. He had gone home with the woman of his dreams, after finally getting as far as putting his arm around her, and fallen asleep. Unbelievable!_

He flopped backwards, jarring his head on the armrest. He dreaded to think what Temperance thought of him. Then he noticed that he was covered with a couple of blankets; evidently Bones wasn't so pissed that she was willing to let her unexpected overnight guest freeze on the couch. He wondered why she hadn't woken him up. He looked at his watch, the glowing hands read 7:30. He gave a half smile in the dark, that qualified as his best night's sleep in a fortnight. He tensed suddenly as he heard the floorboards upstairs creak and then the whoosh of the shower. He wasn't sure what to do, _should he get up?_ He didn't want to wander into the kitchen or anywhere else as he hadn't been shown around before he'd fallen asleep. He decided that discretion was the better part of valour and he'd wait for Temperance to come downstairs. His closed his eyes and tried out a range of explanations and apologies for his soporific performance the previous evening.

Upstairs in the shower, Temperance was humming to herself as the soapy bubbles from her shampoo cascaded down her body and swirled down the plug hole. She wondered if Booth had slept okay. She hadn't. She had sat in the living room watching Booth sleeping peacefully for almost an hour. She'd been trying to sort out what she felt for him, and had approached the issue with a characteristically thorough and logical approach. She had listed Booth's good points and bad points, how they related to hers, she'd thought about how she felt when she spoke to him and saw him, and how she felt when he wasn't there. Unfortunately the answer she'd arrived at after all this careful analysis had scared the hell out of her. Once she had actually thought about it, she had realised how strong her feelings were. She had abruptly ended her contemplation of the sleeping Booth when her internal voice - sounding disturbingly like Angela - had said, 'that's what I've been telling you all along sweetie, you're crazy about Booth.' She had bolted from the room and gone to bed, unfortunately sleep had proved elusive. Fractured images of Booth: smiling at her over dinner, putting his arm around her in the snow, kept interrupting her attempts to drop off to sleep.

She turned off the spray of water and wrapped herself in a towel. She dried off in her bedroom and after spraying deodorant and slathering on moisturiser all over, she pulled on a pair of jeans and a pretty silk top. She sat on the edge of her bed, she didn't want to go downstairs, she'd have to face him. Intuition was his strong point, he was bound to be able to tell what she was thinking. _That would be so embarrassing!_ It didn't occur to her that Booth might feel the same way. She took a deep breath and forced herself to her feet, it was her house and she couldn't hide in her room all day. She could act casual, in fact she didn't need to act at all - nothing had changed.

Temperance crept down the stairs trying not to make any noise. She walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. Then she filled the kettle, then flicked the switch at the wall. She drummed her fingers on the worktop for a moment and then started to open cupboards, taking out the ingredients for pancakes. She lifted a pan down off a hook and started to mix up the batter.

Booth had heard her come downstairs and decided that he really ought to get up and go talk to her. He threw off the blankets and then folded them neatly in a pile. He ran his hands over his face and rubbed his eyes. _I probably look like hell _he thought, hair standing on end as it always did in the morning, stubble and he didn't want to think about how creased his shirt and suit trousers were going to be. He swung his arms in a couple of lazy circles to try to work the knots out and then started to walk decisively towards the source of a light and faint sounds of cooking.

He stood in the doorway of the kitchen for a moment, watching. Temperance had her back to him and seemed to be preparing breakfast. He smiled slightly as he saw that all the ingredients for making pancakes were lined up in a neat row, in the exact order they would be needed. He noticed that her hair was still damp from the shower and was tied up in a loose knot to keep the damp strands off her back.

He decided that there wasn't any point in putting off the inevitable and he cleared his throat, "Good morning."

Temperance spun round with a jump. She felt like the bottom had fallen out of her stomach as she stared at Booth. His appearance was usually always neat: smart suits, clean-shaven and not a hair out of place. Now he was standing in her kitchen, leaning sleepily on the doorframe, with his hair tufted up in all directions, a very noticeable shadow of stubble and his white dress shirt crinkled with one half still tucked in and the other sticking out. Her grip on the whisk tightened, apparently she liked the scruffy look.

Booth smiled tentatively, "Err.. you threatening me with that?" He nodded at the whisk.

Temperance blinked and put the whisk down on the surface behind her, she was about to speak when Booth interrupted looking very sheepish, "I'm really sorry I fell asleep like that. I guess I was a lot more tired than I thought," He paused for a moment then levered himself away from the doorframe and took a couple of steps towards her, "You should have just woken me up though."

Temperance shook her head, "You needed the sleep, I couldn't bring myself to wake you up. Feeling better this morning?" She looked critically at his face, noting that the dark circles under his eyes had receded, "You look a bit better."

Booth grinned, "Really? I thought I must look like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards." He ineffectually tried to smooth his hair down.

Temperance felt a smile tugging at her mouth too, "Well, you do look a bit dishevelled, but more importantly you don't look so exhausted." She paused for a moment, "Do you want to take a shower?"

Booth nodded, "That'd be great. I'm not sure that I actually qualify as human in the mornings until I've had one."

Temperance felt herself blush slightly, she had never thought that she'd be learning things like this about her partner. Then she shook herself, "Okay, I'll show where everything is. Follow me."

She lead the way up the stairs. Booth knew that he shouldn't be staring at her rear view, so looked at the pictures lining the wall up the stairs. There were two small canvases on the way up and then a large one on the wall at the top of the stairs. They were all gorgeous, dreamy landscapes, quite abstract but still with discernable detail and all clearly by the same artist. He stopped at the top of the stairs to admire the large painting.

Temperance turned when she realised that he wasn't following and then smiled when she saw what he was looking at, "It's wonderful isn't it? It's such a peaceful scene. I sit and stare at it sometimes, if it's been a tough day at work." Booth turned to her as she spoke and she looked away, a little embarrassed to have confessed that some days her work affected her.

He nodded in understanding, then said "Did Angela paint it?"

Temperance turned back to him with a beaming smile, "Yes! How could you tell?"

He shrugged, "I've seen quite a lot of her work. This is a different style, but it's still... I don't know... very Angela."

"Well, she'll be really pleased to hear that you recognised her work, and liked it." Temperance said, her smile fading as she tried to imagine the conversation that explained how Booth came to be looking at the painting at the top of her stairs at 7:45 in the morning on his way to the shower.

_Moving on swiftly_ she thought to herself. "The shower's just through here." she said pushing the door open, Booth stepped across and brushed past her to walk into the bathroom. Even that tiny touch sent little sparks surging up her arm, she stood back, "I'll get you a towel."

She returned in a few moments with a big white towel, which she handed over to him. Then she explained which dials to turn on the shower and dug out some shampoo, soap and even a spare tooth brush for him, "Okay?"

Booth nodded.

Temperance thought for a moment, "I'll see if I can find some clothes that'll fit you, in case you want to change."

Booth raised an eyebrow, "Err... I don't think anything of yours is likely to fit."

"These will," She replied, "If I can find them."

She left the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She walked back to her bedroom and started to rummage through her drawers for something that would fit Booth. In the distance she heard the shower turn on. She rapidly found an oversized t-shirt that would be okay and after a bit more searching found a pair of jogging pants, which she thought should be long enough for him. She wondered if he'd think they belonged to an old boyfriend. They didn't, but had been left behind by an old college friend who had stayed for a week when at a conference in Washington two years ago. They hadn't had chance to meet up in person since then, so the clothes he'd left behind were still sat in her closet.

Temperance touched the top of her head and realised that her hair was nearly dry. She untied it and then combed out the waves for a couple of minutes. The shower had turned off, so she picked up the pile of clothes and walked towards the bathroom door.

She knocked quietly and then said, "Booth, I've found some stuff that should fit, if you want to borrow them. I'll leave them outside the door." She put the clothes on the floor and was about to walk away when the door opened. She took a sharp intake of breath and then swallowed. Booth was standing in front of her wearing the towel around his waist and nothing else. His arms were folded across his chest. Droplets of water were tracing little pathways down his body. _Oh yes,_ _he definitely does lots of sits ups - look at the condition of those rectus abdominus muscles. The biceps are pretty good too. _Temperance halted her inventory of Booth's muscle groups with reluctance when she realised that he was looking at her expectantly. She smiled nervously.

Booth frowned, "Sorry I couldn't hear what you were saying." _Was she checking me out? _He thought incredulously.

"Oh - just that there are some clothes you can borrow there" she pointed to the pile, there was no way she was picking them up to hand them over, she would be dangerously close to his semi-naked body, "I'll go make some pancakes." And with that, she scuttled off down the stairs.

Booth stared for a moment, then picked up the pile of clothes with a shrug. After about five minutes, he was dry, dressed, had clean teeth and his hair was looking tidy. He still had stubble, but other than that he felt a lot better. He took the stairs two at a time breathing in the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

Temperance smiled as he entered the kitchen, "Right on time." She said, handing him a plate of blueberry pancakes and a mug of coffee. They sat at the breakfast bar eating silently. Booth couldn't believe how natural it felt to be sat in her kitchen, first thing in the morning, sharing breakfast. He paused, his pancake loaded fork hanging in mid air, this was great, and yet it wasn't. So much had been left unspoken, mainly because he'd fallen asleep, but it meant that he didn't know if this was breakfast with a caring friend, looking out for him when he was down; or if it was the start of a closer relationship. He swallowed the forkful - _how the hell was he supposed to work it out? He couldn't just come out and ask her, could he?_

He started slightly when he felt his phone vibrate. He put down his fork, pulled out the phone and smiled in apology, "Booth here."

Temperance watched as he listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, then said "No sir." There was another pause, "Yes." He looked at his watch, "In about an hour?" He waited a bit longer, "Okay - I'll be there." He snapped the phone shut and sighed.

"I've got to go into work."

Temperance's face fell, "What's going on. Is it a new case?"

Booth shook his head, "Not really. It's not one of my cases, but they've had to bring forward some big operation. They're drafting in everyone who's on call this weekend. For back-up."

"Okay, I assume you can finish breakfast?" she asked.

He nodded, "Then I need to go home and get changed and head on in to work. I'd better call a cab." He reached for his phone, but saw that Temperance was shaking her head.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'll drive you over to your place." She could see he was about to protest and glared, "We are not debating it."

Booth decided to admit defeat gracefully and nodded in agreement.

They hurriedly finished their food and coffee, then Temperance asked, "Do you want to go now?"

Booth looked at his watch and tilted his head from side to side a couple of times, "Yeah, I guess." He said in resignation.

Temperance nodded and moved around the kitchen, checking the plugs were switched off; Booth smiled slightly at her routine before starting to gather up his things.

They put on their coats and then Temperance unbolted the front door and opened it. It was white outside, although the dusting of snow was only very light. The wind had died away, so it seemed milder than the previous evening.

Booth turned to her, gesturing at her sporty car, "You okay to drive that car in this?"

Temperance didn't bother to reply, she just stared at him stonily.

Booth put his hands up in self-defence, "Fine. Whatever. Just checking."

They got into the car and Temperance drove carefully through the deserted streets. The main roads had been thoroughly salted so there was nothing but glistening black tarmac, the quieter streets in Booth's neighbourhood were icier. Finally they pulled up outside Booth's house, the black SUV in the driveway now had a cap of white snow.

"Here we are then." Temperance said turning to him.

Booth looked at her. _Damn this was awkward. _All the rules of their relationship had been shifted, but he wasn't sure what the new ones were. _Should he say thank you? Maybe he should kiss her? But what if she'd driven him over here to get rid of him as quickly as possible?_

Temperance watched Booth's expression carefully. He was uncharacteristically uncertain, but she had no idea what was going on in his head. Suddenly she could see that he'd come to a decision as his face cleared. He rotated his body so he was looking her full in the face and then he reached across and took her hands. All rational thought ceased - as 'he's going to kiss me' - repeated over and over in her head.

"Thank you. Thanks for dinner, for letting me sleep over - I am really sorry about that - thanks for breakfast and the loan of these clothes. And I'm really, really sorry I have to rush off like this. Maybe we can talk soon?" He nodded encouragingly; Temperance looked blank and then stared at their entwined hands, "I'd like to talk... you know...about stuff..." He tried again, but Temperance continued to look puzzled. Booth gave up, there wasn't time to explain what he was trying to say. _Perhaps the blank look was a hint to back off? _He squeezed her hands and said, "I'll speak to you later. Good luck with the book today" With that, he let go, opened the car door and walked across to the entrance to his house.

He turned around to see Temperance was still gazing at him intently. He smiled and waved. He was relieved to see her smile back in response, wave and then she slowly pulled away from the curb and drove off.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks once more for reviews. Hopefully this chapter isn't too disjointed, but hopping from one perspective to another is a pain when they aren't in the same place.

* * *

Booth stretched slightly trying to loosen the muscles in his arms without making any sudden movements that would attract attention. 

He, along with another 30 or so agents, were spread out along a street in the suburbs of Washington, providing cover for the main team which was leading the operation. It was cold and he was thoroughly fed up. He glanced at his watch. It was nearly eight in the evening, he'd been standing around for the best part of four hours and nothing had happened. He rubbed his nose and wondered if he'd ever get the feeling back into his feet. Two pairs of socks were not helping keep out the cold. He was wearing several layers on top and a heavy Kevlar jacket, even so the chilly winter's evening was starting to seep deep into his bones.

He started to think about Temperance, but forced the thought away. He needed to stay alert. Day dreaming could get someone killed. He smiled wryly be could almost hear his drill sergeant repeating those phrases, so familiar to him from his training in the army. Concentration, and the ability to focus on a task absolutely, as much as his accuracy with a gun was what had got him noticed and picked out to be a sniper.

Suddenly off to his left, down on the street, he saw the signal. Things were kicking off. He checked his weapon and waited. All his senses trained on the scene below him.

* * *

Across town, Temperance sat in front of her laptop typing rapidly. She stopped to take a drink of water and her eyes flicked left to right as she scanned the paragraphs she'd just written. It was good. She breathed a sigh of relief, somehow or another she'd found some inspiration to sort out the problem chapters in her latest book. She clicked save and then burnt it to CD. She didn't take any chances with her drafts, having once lost nearly 20,000 words when the computer had crashed. She shut the lid on her laptop and noticed the envelope that Booth had given her the previous day in his office with the details of the Pennsylvania case. She looked at it with pursued lips, thinking about Booth. 

She didn't know where they stood. She'd finally acknowledged how much he meant to her, but she didn't know how he felt about her. Sure, she knew he liked her, but not if it was more than platonic friendship. She needed more evidence to draw a conclusion. Even the arm around her shoulders the previous evening could just have been a show of friendly affection. She shut her eyes for a moment and told herself that she wasn't going to think about it anymore. Perhaps he'd call later and they could talk as he'd promised. She supposed it would depend on the case he had been roped in to help with.

If not, she could always talk to Angela in the morning.

* * *

Almost three and half hours later, Booth was standing wearily in his hallway. The operation had been a success. There had been a limited number of casualties, none serious, and he hadn't been called on to do anything other than stand in the cold. He dumped his coat over a chair and went to the kitchen to make a hot drink. While the kettle was boiling, he looked idly at his phone. It was too late to call Temperance to talk, but perhaps he should sent a text? 

He opened the message menu and then typed: 'Hi - Just got in. Cold, boring op. All fine tho. Hope yr day was good. Will U call 2moro or C U Tues. xBooth.' He hesitated a moment and then pressed send. He flipped the phone shut and turned it off. He made a decaf coffee, which he drained rapidly. He yawned widely and made his way up to bed. He was asleep in moments.

* * *

Temperance was lying in bed dozing when she heard her phone bleep. She rolled over and picked it up off the side table. When she pressed a button the screen lit up and she saw the message symbol. She opened the message, a smile slowly spreading across her face. 

She clicked reply: 'Hi Booth. Glad U R OK. Look 4ward 2 speaking soon. xBones.' She looked at the screen and deleted the end of the message replacing 'Bones' with 'Temperance' before sending the message. Then she turned off the phone and turned over falling asleep easily.

* * *

Temperance was up early and arrived in the lab before anyone else, as was her custom. The snow had largely melted, although heavy blizzards were forcast for later in the week. 

She sat at her desk with the Pennsylvania folder in front of her and started to check through the procedures the local agencies had put together to try to verify the identities of the various bodies. She tapped the top of her pen on her lips in between noting comments. The basic concepts were there, they were just in the wrong order. In the end, she gave up trying to write notes and turned on her computer and rewrote the procedure. Although she had added in some extra checks, she had deleted several unnecessary steps, so she figured that each identification would take roughly the same amount of time. She printed off some copies and then wrote a quick e-mail to Booth, attaching the file:

'Morning Booth - I've attached the rewritten protocol for the case. I'll need to run through it with them, considering they managed to come up with the original version! I'm not planning to do anything else on the case today unless you tell me different. What time are you picking me up tomorrow? B.'

Then she walked out into the lab and turned her attention to the skeleton of a Second World War solider, which was set out on a table.

* * *

Booth arrived late for work. The traffic had been hell and he had hit snooze on his alarm one too many times. He spent half an hour filling out his part of the paperwork for yesterday's operation and then opened his e-mail. His eyes were immediately drawn to the message from Temperance. He opened it, and smiled ruefully when he realised that she had already done the work on the case. He clicked reply: 

'Thanks for the file - very quick work! Hope you didn't waste your Sunday working on it. Anyway, how about I pick you up at 8:00 tomorrow morning, from your place? Booth.'

He worked his way through the rest of his inbox, and then headed off to a mid morning meeting .

* * *

Temperance was checking her e-mail just before lunch, when Angela walked in. 

"Hi sweetie. Not seen you all morning," Angela flopped onto the chair in front of Temperance's desk, "So, how was Booth on Saturday?"

Temperance looked up guiltily. _Well, well_, Angela thought leaning forward conspiratorially, "Oh... I guess you didn't just talk about the case?"

When her friend didn't reply, Angela said, "Hey come on, the suspense is killing me. What happened? I've got a few theories..."

Temperance looked up and touched Angela's arm to forestall what were likely to be lurid theories that involved throwing Booth across his desk and ravishing him, and she ignored the part of her mind that rubbed its hands together at the thought.

She took a deep breath and talked Angela through the evening and the previous morning. She had to pause to close the door, as Angela's exclamations of "Dinner!"; "He said what in his toast?" and "She dumped him!" were pretty loud. It went downhill from there, and soon Angela was reduced to sighing "no way" and "so cute" after almost every sentence.

"... and so we're off to Pennsylvania tomorrow on this case." Temperance concluded with a sigh.

Angela looked at her friend's miserable face in utter bewilderment, "Sweetie, that's good isn't it? A day away with Booth."

Temperance looked at her, "I don't know... I'm not sure that he feels the same way."

Angela was momentarily stunned into silence - not only had Temperance had actually admitted that she had feelings for Booth, yet she seemed to have missed a fact so obvious that everyone, including Zach, was aware that Booth adored her. Angela took a deep breath concluding that yelling 'I do you so' wasn't going to help and neither was trying to shake some sense into her, "Sweetie, trust me, it's obvious. Booth is in love with you too."

Temperance's eyes widened., "I... I.. never said I was in love with him." She felt as if all the air had been knocked out of her body.

Angela raised an eyebrow and then frowned in exasperation, "I'm not even going to respond to that, it's so dumb." She smiled placatingly and took Temperance's hand, "You two need to talk to one and other. This trip is the perfect opportunity. It'll work out."

Temperance found herself nodding, then jumped when her desk phone rang.

"Sorry - hang on a sec." She said to her friend and reached over to pick up the phone, "Dr Temperance Brennan here."

"Hi Temperance." _Booth_ she thought, and wondered how they could possibly work together in future if his voice was going to bring her up in goose bumps each time he spoke to her.

"Hi Booth." She was pleased with how calm she sounded. _Don't look at Angela_ she thought, "What d'you want?"

"It's about the trip tomorrow."

"Uh-huh - eight my place yeah?" she said.

"Not exactly, things are getting a bit tense up there. The families have started a sit in at all the local authority offices - sheriff's department, the hospital, the council. They are demanding federal jurisdiction. It's peaceful at the moment, but the word is that things could get out of hand. I've been told we need to get up there asap." She heard him pause, "I know you're busy today, but any chance that we could leave this evening? If we could offer them a town meeting tonight, things may ease off a bit."

Temperance knew thatthere wasn't anything that pressing to do in the lab, Zach could do the initial work on the World War Two solider if she spent a couple of hours running through what she wanted done, "Okay, I can leave early today if you need me to, but not before four." She said and heard Booth's sigh of relief on the other end of the phone.

"Thank you. That's another one I owe you. I'm working up quite a list already this week." He smiled down the phone at her, "Do you want me to pick you up from the Jeffersonian?"

Temperance shook her head as she said, "No, I've got my car. Pick me up from my place at five."

"Okay. See you then..." Booth replied, Temperance waited because he had sounded as if he was about to say something else, but there was only silence.

"Fine. See you later Booth." She heard a distant "Bye" and then hung up.

Angela was grinning gleefully at her, "So it's a night away with Booth, then?"

Temperance nodded.

Suddenly Angela became serious, "Talk to him, okay." Temperance didn't reply, "Promise me, sweetie."

"Okay - I'll talk to him." Temperance caved in, "But now I need to talk to Zach about what he needs to do while I'm gone." With that, the two of them stood and walked out into the lab.

(TBC)


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you all so much for the reviews. This has been a fun story to write.

* * *

Booth pulled up outside Temperance's familiar front door just before five. The lights were on inside, so he assumed that she was home. His eyes flicked to his rear view mirror and he grimaced, the long drive wasn't going to follow the plan he'd envisaged after speaking to her earlier. 

He was about to get out and knock, when the front door opened and Temperance stepped out. He smiled involuntarily at the sight of her. She had a small overnight bag over one shoulder and her laptop over the other. She was wrapped up in a voluminous down-filled jacket and was wearing the same woolly hat as on Saturday. She locked the door and then walked over to the SUV, smiling at him.

Booth leant across the passenger seat and opened the door as she arrived.

"Afternoon Dr Brennan," He said, taking her bags as she handed them up to him.

She looked at him in surprise, her brow knitting into a frown. Then she noticed his apologetic smile. Before she could comment, he said, "Dr Brennan - I'd like to introduce Special Agent Pete O'Sullivan and Special Agent Adriana Davies." He motioned to the back seat of the car, "They have particular expertise in dealing with incidents involving communities and protest situations. They'll be joining us for the trip."

Temperance looked into the back of the car. The two agents waved in a friendly manner.

"Pleasure to meet you Dr Brennan," One of them said, _Special Agent O'Sullivan_, Temperance guessed. He was a tall, blonde haired man, a bit older than Booth. Good looking, she supposed. His associate, Special Agent Davies, was younger. She had a calm face and wise eyes, which Temperance suspected wouldn't miss much. Both of them were wearing dark blue, conservatively cut suits.

Temperance forced herself to smile, "Hi. Good to meet you." She slid into her seat and peeled off her coat, smiling gratefully when Davies took it off her and hung it over the back of her seat.

Booth turned to her, "All set?"

She nodded, clipping her seatbelt in and sinking back against the headrest. She wondered if there was any chance that their chaperones might fall asleep - somehow she doubted it. She cast a sideways glance at Booth, who rolled his eyes and mouthed 'Sorry'. She smiled and shrugged slightly. That talk she'd promised Angela that they would have, would just have to wait.

The two agents proved to be chatty companions. O'Sullivan, in particular, was flatteringly interested in her work and declared himself a fan of her books.

"Any chance I could get a cameo in one of your novels, Tempe?" He asked, patting her shoulder familiarly.

"My characters are not based on real people, Agent O'Sullivan." She replied.

"Really?" He queried, "No similarities at all?"

"No. The characters and relationships in my books are quite separate from those in my real life. It would be very difficult to keep things clear otherwise." She didn't understand the significant look O'Sullivan directed at Booth following that statement.

The conversation continued on in a similar vein, before shifting onto the FBI cases Temperance had worked on. O'Sullivan continued to heap flattery on her for her contribution to solving the cases.

Booth's grip on the steering wheel tightened as O'Sullivan continued to flirt with Temperance. _Jesus - another couple of minutes and he'd be asking if she had a man and exchanging phone numbers! _Booth thought angrily. His only comfort was that Temperance wasn't giving him any encouragement, just answering politely.

Davies watched the by-play with some amusement. Her partner was a notorious flirt, but she had to give him points for persevering with Dr Brennan, who seemed to be utterly unaware of the undertone to all his questions. She also noticed that the doctor's attention kept drifting back to Booth, who was largely silent. Davies smothered a smile. Rumours about the two of them were rife in the Hoover building and now she could see why, Booth's expression was getting darker and darker as O'Sullivan's charm offensive continued. _Any second now and he'd be grinding his teeth!_

As they arrived outside their hotel in the town, Booth reflected that the drive had been one of the longest three hours of his life. The traffic had been terrible, so he'd had to concentrate, while putting up with some guy trying to hit on his partner. Still, one thing the experience had taught him was that he wasn't going to screw around anymore. He needed to know where he stood with her. He set his jaw belligerently as he caught sight of O'Sullivan in the mirror as he parked. If he had his way, where he stood would be the sort of place where he'd have the right to tell guys like O'Sullivan to back the hell off, with his fist if necessary.

Temperance looked at Booth in concern. He had been very quiet throughout the journey. His usual banter almost entirely absent. In fact, he had been looking more and more morose the longer the journey had gone on. Even O'Sullivan's amusing comments hadn't raised a smile. She hoped that he was okay.

Booth swung round in his sear and he looked at his watch, "The public meeting starts at nine. We've got just under an hour 'till then, but we need to catch up with the local authorities to get an update first and we want to get to the hall about 15 minutes before the meeting begins." Booth and the other two agents had spent most of the afternoon in a phone conference with the sheriff and other local officials, planning the meeting.

O'Sullivan spoke, "Look, let's quickly check into this place and then make our way over the sheriff's office."

"Good idea," Temperance replied, "I hope we'll be able to find some food after this meeting ends!"

"Don't bet on it," Booth muttered.

Temperance looked at him questioningly, but he'd turned away. She shrugged internally and opened the door and reached for her bags. O'Sullivan offered to carry them and Booth could feel a vein starting to throb in his forehead. He was relieved when she just smiled and said, "No, I'm good thanks," and walked off towards the hotel.

Booth and his FBI colleagues followed her across the road. The hotel was small, with rooms on a couple of floors. It was quite old, but the interior was clean and well maintained and the lobby was warm and welcoming. They endured the usual rigmarole while their last minute reservations were confirmed. Booth was relieved to find that he and Temperance were in adjacent rooms on one floor, but the other two agents were on the floor below. They walked up the stairs, agreeing to meet O'Sullivan and Davies in the lobby in a quarter of an hour.

Temperance looked at Booth out of the corner of her eye as they walked up the stairs, he still looked tense, "Booth, are you okay?"

Booth looked at her suspiciously, "I'm fine, why?"

"You just seemed very tense on the way up here." She touched his arm lightly.

Looking into her wide green eyes, Booth realised that she was genuinely concerned. He felt a felt a strange thrill that she should worry about his moods - he also felt guilty as he knew she had no idea why he was so irritable. He smiled reassuringly, "Sorry, the change of plans threw me off a bit and O'Sullivan really ticks me off." _That wasn't a lie. _"I'll try to regain my good humour in the next ten minutes - I think I'm going to need it this evening!"

Temperance nodded and stopped outside her door, "Knock when you're ready to go down to the lobby."

"Okay, see you shortly." He replied, as she unlocked the door of her room and stepped inside.

Booth dumped his bag as soon as he got into his room and then used the bathroom to freshen up. He flicked the TV on briefly, then changed his mind, pulling out his phone. He pressed an entry from his phone book and waited for someone to pick up while he rifled through the papers that he had brought with him, working out which ones he needed for the meeting. Suddenly a voice answered at the other end.

"Hello Margaret. It's Seeley here. I was wondering if I could speak to Parker." He paused, and nodded slightly.

"Yeah - is he being good?" He smiled, "Really!" In the background he could hear his son's excited voice approaching the phone.

"Daddy!" Parker exclaimed.

"Hey champ! How're you doing?" Booth listened with a gentle smile on his face as his son told him about his day, commenting encouragingly every now and then.

"So d'you build a snowman?" He listened some more, "Just the carrot and scarf left, huh?"

Booth paused for a moment and then said, "Well, it is time for bed... Uh-huh... No, Daddy'll be going to bed a bit later...Sleep tight... I love you."

Booth sat listening to the dial tone with his eyes closed for a couple of seconds and then shut his phone. He wondered if it would get any easier being apart from Parker most of the time. Melancholy though that thought was, Parker's enthusiasm had raised his spirits and displaced his earlier irritation.

He looked down at the flyer for the evening's meeting. The map indicated that it was only a short walk away and that it should be easy to find. His attention was caught by the date -13 February. Tomorrow was Valentine's Day...

In her room, Temperance was sitting with a fruit tea and going over the notes for her presentation. She was still wearing her coat. She wished that she'd had more time to prepare, and she wondered if she could reassure the concerned families. Then, there was a knock at her door.

"Just push it, it's open." She called.

The door opened and Booth stepped in, "Ready?" he asked.

She caught her lip between her teeth, "Two minutes?"

"Sure." He replied and she waved him over to sit on the bed. He sat quietly, watching as she finished going through her notes, pausing every now and then to jot a correction or add an extra phrase. Her lips forming the words of the presentation as she read it through. Booth found himself staring at her lips.

After a couple of minutes she folded the cards together and looked across at him, "Okay, I'm done."

Booth stood and waited for her to proceed him out the door, his hand settling comfortably on her back. Neither of them said anything as they walked down to the lobby. The other two agents were already there. Booth dropped his hand discretely, but Davies had already spotted it. She suppressed another smile and wondered if she ought to warn O'Sullivan to ease off.

The four of them made their way over to the sheriff's office. It was a small, nondescript redbrick building just around the corner from their hotel. The sheriff was as unprepossessing as his office, although he looked thoroughly relieved to see them.

Booth made the introductions, "Good evening Sheriff. We spoke this afternoon, I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth." He nodded in Temperance's direction, "This is my partner, Dr Temperance Brennan. Dr Brennan is a forensic anthropologist and one the foremost experts in that field. She's here to provide your people with a bit of credibility." He paused as the Sheriff shook hands with Temperance, "You spoke with Special Agent Pete O'Sullivan," He said gesturing to him, "and Special Agent Adriana Davies" he nodded in her direction, "this afternoon. They are experts in handling protest situations in communities - let's hope that we won't have to draw on their expertise too much this evening."

The Sheriff continue to smile nervously, rubbing his bald patch absently, "Good, so glad to see you. Things have quietened down a bit now." He looked around his office, "They've vacated all the buildings they were camping out in..." His relief was obvious. "Pretty much everyone will be there tonight."

With that, they made their way over to the town hall where the meeting was taking place. The Sheriff took them in through a back entrance, to avoid the crowd.

Booth looked out from a curtain behind the stage. The hall was packed. There were a lot of angry faces, and a number of placards and banners. The small table and row of chairs in front of the microphone looked very isolated. His brow furrowed as he recalled that he'd be up first, explaining what the FBI were doing. He knew that many residents were not going to be satisfied with the limited intervention currently envisaged. He turned to look at Temperance, who was scanning her notes again, he'd better give her a good intro - her expertise and reputation was their trump card.

He walked over to her, "Are you ready?"

She looked up with a start and then smiled wanly.

Booth felt a stab of concern, "Seriously, are you okay?"

Temperance nodded and then said, "I just wish I'd had chance to try my presentation out on you." She paused, "I've tried to make it accessible, but I'm not very good at knowing what most people will understand." She looked down at the floor.

Booth felt a wave of guilt. _That damned jury consultant on the Maggie Schilling case - she'd really done a number on Temperance's confidence in talking to 'ordinary' people!_ He took her hand, "You'll be great. Just let them know that you understand how they feel and that your role is to help them get closure." He paused, and brushed her cheek, making her look up at him. Her eyes were wide and vulnerable. He smiled gently, "I know that your presentation will be great."

Her shoulders straightened and she looked more confident as she realised that Booth believed in her. She smiled in return, "Okay, let's get it over with."

He grinned and walked out onto the stage. The room fell silent as Temperance, the other FBI agents, the sheriff and a number of other officials trooped out.

Booth stood in front of the small lectern and looked out across the sea of faces, "Good evening. I am Special Agent Seeley Booth, FBI. Thank you for attending this meeting this evening and giving us the opportunity to talk to you about the situation at the Abbey Mill cemetery and what we are doing to help resolve it. We'll be happy to answer questions, but I hope that our brief presentations will provide some of the information, and reassurances, that you are seeking." He paused and looked out at the room. The audience hadn't thawed at all, but he didn't think that anyone looked any angrier either. "Our primary role is to ensure that the identification of individuals is carried out swiftly, accurately and respectfully. Dr Temperance Brennan, who is sitting on the far left of the table, will provide more detail how that will be accomplished in her presentation in a minute. Dr Brennan is one of the country's leading Forensic Anthropologists and has worked on countless difficult identification cases. She has also run large scale identification programmes in many of the world's most troubled areas, providing vital evidence to successfully prosecute the perpetrators of violence. It is that experience in ensuring the highest standards of practice, even in the most difficult circumstances and with limited resources, which she will bring to the situation here." He paused again, noting that people were looking at Temperance with interest. "Dr Brennan?"

Temperance swapped places with him, giving him a tight smile as she passed. She stood at the lectern and tapped the cards together, "Good evening. Firstly, let me say how sorry I am to be standing before you in these circumstances and I'd like you to know that ensuring that you have the answers you need is right at the top of my priorities." She paused glancing out at the audience,_ it seemed to be going okay._ She went on to outline the identification protocol and the training she had planned for the following day. She delicately explained how her team would assist if there was any shadow of doubt in an identification and then, at the end, she pasued again to reiterate her commitment to resolving the awful situation the families found themselves in.

Booth had to fight back a proud grin - _she'd done a brilliant job._ The mood of the crowd was still tense, but the hostility had died away and that was down to Temperance convincing them that she was working for them.

Booth stood up again to explain how the FBI would be keeping an eye on what was happening and would be considering what further action was needed. There were mutterings of complaint at his words, and a few anonymous shouts for people to be fired or locked up. He listened sympathetically, but didn't make any commitments before opening up the floor for questions.

An hour and a half later the questions had dried up and people were beginning to make their way from the hall. Booth sat on the edge of the table next to Temperance, relieved that they seemed to have won the crowd over.

"You were brilliant," he said. She smiled at the compliment. "Mind you," he added, "agreeing to start work at 6:30 tomorrow was a bit much!"

Temperance shrugged, "I may as well get on with it. Hopefully we might be able to leave a bit earlier and get home."

He nodded in agreement, before turning to the sheriff for some hints on where they might get some food at nearly 11 on a cold winter's night.

The options were limited, so they found themselves standing in line in a pizza place a block away from their hotel.

After staring at the menu, Booth turned to Temperance, "D'you want to share a large one?"

She nodded, "Absolutely no anchovies though."

He pretended to think it over, "Okay, deal." He ordered a huge pepperoni pizza and a couple of cans of cola. They waited in the corner, leaning against a rail while the pizza was heated, watching the customers file past.

"The other two not pizza fans?" She asked.

"Don't know, they came prepared apparently." Booth shrugged, "Packed lunch or something."

Temperance raised an eyebrow and then levered herself from the rail to collect the big box. As they arrived outside the hotel, she put a restraining hand on Booth's arm, "Do think we're allowed to take this in?" She queried.

He grinned, "We'll smuggle it. You hide it and I'll run interference!"

She shook her head with a laugh and followed him as he led the way, checking out the terrain with exaggerated care. Their laughter drew more attention from the night porter than a more subtle entry would have, but they got the pizza up the stairs without being challenged.

They stopped outside their doors, and then Booth grinned, "Come on, you come into my room. You've done all the hosting of late." With that he unlocked the door, secretly thankful that he hadn't had chance to unpack.

Temperance followed him in, and cleared a space on the desk to put the pizza. Soon they were both sat on the bed eating pizza slices and drinking coffee.

They chatted casually about the meeting and Booth told her about his conversation with Parker. She felt touched by his obvious delight in his son and his willingness to share that with her. She wondered if it was significant, after all Booth hadn't even admitted that he had a son for months, yet now he was happy to tell her about Parker's snowman and lack of enthusiasm for peas.

Booth watched her as they ate and chatted. _She looked gorgeous. She was gorgeous_. As they finished the final slice of the pizza he came to a decision, "Temperance," He spoke quietly, hoping his voice sounded more confident to her, than it did to him, "I was wondering if maybe we could have that talk?"

She gaze snapped up to his, and she nodded, even as she felt herself falling into his brown eyes.

Booth swallowed, "So..."

Temperance looked at him, her heart starting to thump in her chest, "So?"

He licked his lips, "I wanted to talk to you about us..." He stopped, she was looking at him expectantly "... uh and... well... our relationship."

She nodded, inching closer to him on the bed.

"I've realised that I don't..." He paused, _putting in the negative wasn't right, I need to be more positive, _he moved towards her and took her hands, "I mean, I've realised that I do..."

They were sitting very close together now, and Booth found that her proximity was making forming sentences almost impossible. He opened his mouth to try again, but was caught by the look in her eyes. All of her defensive barriers were down and suddenly he realised that he didn't need to say anything. His hands moved up her arms to cup her face and stroke her cheek. Their faces were inches apart and awareness of everything else around them fell away. All they could see, and all they could feel, was each other. Slowly, Temperance reached up and ran a hand through his hair, pulling him closer.

Their eyes slowly closed and their lips met in a kiss.

(TBC)


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you all so much for the reviews. Sorry about leaving you hanging on last time... hope you enjoy the pay off.

I've never written this sort of scene before, so I hope it's okay... (And that I got therating right!)

Please R&R.

* * *

Their kiss swept all thought away. Temperance, her hand still buried in his hair, urged Booth closer. He complied, and bruised her lips with his. They had been sitting side by side on the bed, so he dropped his hands to her waist and lifted her, swivelling her round to face him. His hand lingered at her waist, stroking the a narrow strip of skin that had been exposed where her top had ridden up. The kiss continued unbroken as their bodies pressed closer together and their hands explored and touched the other's face. 

Eventually they paused to draw breath, pulling away slightly, their foreheads touching. Booth slowly opened his eyes, and gazed as Temperance's eyes fluttered open. Her pupils were huge, surrounded by an emerald green halo. Booth felt his chest constrict as he realised that he had kindled that passion in her. He curled a coil of her red hair around a finger, as his hand rested on her shoulder. He loved its silky texture and the way it flashed with fiery highlights. It was intoxicating, like her smooth, soft skin and subtle scent. He wondered distantly how it had taken them so long to get this far, before leaning in to trail kisses from her lips and down onto her neck.

Temperance gasped as he kissed her again. Then she planted a hand on his chest and pushed him back onto the bed. Booth's arms locked around her and pulled her down on top of him. She lay, pressed against his body, revelling in the contact with his muscular frame, as he ran his hands down her back. She couldn't describe the feelings surging through her body, but as she gazed into his beautiful brown eyes, she realised that the wonderment and joy she saw in them probably mirrored her own emotions.

They continued to kiss, tugging at each other's clothing as buttons came undone and more skin became exposed. Temperance's top was unbuttoned half way, with one sleeve pushed halfway down her arm, underneath, her silky camisole with a lacy trim peeked out. Booth's kisses trailed lower, tracing along the line of lace and Temperance's breathing became ragged. He undid the rest of the buttons and gently pushed her top off entirely; her camisole stayed on, but his hands were tracing lazy circles on the skin below the hem. She pulled ineffectually at his shirt, which was unbuttoned all the way, trying to remove it. He sensed her urgency and, wrapping his arms around her again, flipped them onto their sides. He shrugged out of his shirt and removed the fitted T-shirt underneath, revealing an expanse of toned muscle. He wanted to feel her skin against his and crushed her to his chest, rolling up the camisole until only her breasts remained covered. His mouth covered hers and his tongue demanded entry. She surrendered with a moan of pleasure before hooking her thumb around his belt buckle, pulling the waist band down as her fingers stroked the sensitive exposed skin of his stomach, causing him to stifle a groan of his own.

As her hand settled on his belt again, Booth forced himself to pause. He loosened his grip slightly and propped his head up on one hand, while the other hand stroked her face lovingly. She lay on her back, looking up at him and with a mixture of puzzlement and desire. Her hand reached up to touch his cheek and draw him down towards her. He turned his head to kiss her palm, smiling into her hand and he felt the insistent pull towards her again. His resolution crumbled and he kissed her again, cradling her head with his hand and lifting her from the bed to meet his lips as he was still lying with his head propped up. Her nails scraped his bare back, causing him to shiver in response.

They kissed with increasing passion, their bodies moving together and limbs tangled. Booth's hand plunged into her hair and she felt herself arching her head away from him but pushing her chest towards him, the fabric of her camisole pulling tight against her skin. She whimpered as his hand brushed her breasts through the straining fabric.

Her whimper cut through the fog of desire in Booth's brain. He laid her back on the bed, "Hey," He said, looking at her with a tender smile.

She looked up at him silently, her eyes heavy lidded and her chest heaving.

Booth reached down and cupped her cheek, not sure what he was going to say until the words were out, "I love you." He felt as if his heart would hammer out of his chest as his words echoed in his head.

He watched as her eyes sprang open and telegraphed disbelief, delight, fear and confusion in rapid succession. She was shaking her head and he found himself nodding at her, repeating his words quietly, as he traced feather-light kisses across her face.

Temperance had felt a wrench as Booth moved apart, her hormone-addled mind wondered if she was doing something wrong - she couldn't have pulled away from him if she'd tried. Then she realised that Booth was going to say something. At first the words didn't register; and then she didn't believe them. She lay rigid in his arms, until the gentle kisses stopped and he looked at her again, his heart in his eyes - fearful that she didn't feel the same.

Suddenly, she found her voice, "I love you too," she whispered, feeling as if she was stepping off an impossibly tall building. She watched in amazement as delight suffused Booth's features. There was a pause as they both reflected on the enormity of their confessions, then they began to smile at one and other.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" She asked, with a grin, tracing figures of eight on his chest.

Booth rolled his eyes, "I thought actions might explain better than words." He nibbled her ear lobe to illustrate.

"I don't know, the words you choose were pretty good." She said, her hand moving lower again.

"Yeah?" He said, grinning as his pathway of kisses along her stomach caused her to gasp.

He paused, as her hands framed his face and moved his head so they were looking in each other's eyes again.

Temperance gazed at him. She wanted to him to say it again, just so she could be certain, but she didn't dare ask him.

Booth looked at her, his expression becoming totally serious, "I love you." His words were punctuated with kisses. "And I probably have done for ages." He kissed her again, "But I only realised it properly this weekend." He paused, hesitant, then ploughed on, "I want us to be together."

Temperance nodded slowly, "That's what I want too."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in to nestle below his chin. He pulled the blankets and cover over them and held her close. They would worry about all the complications - like working together while being in a relationship - tomorrow, for now they knew that had each other and that was enough.

* * *

The alarm trilled insistently, and for some reason Booth found that he couldn't move his right arm to shut it off - something was pinning his arm in place. Then he became of aware of a warm mass shifting against him as the alarm stopped. Realisation dawned and he opened his eyes to see Temperance watching him sleepily. Memories of the previous night surfaced and he smiled at her. 

"Morning." He leant in and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. "You okay?" He asked.

He felt her nod and murmur in agreement.

As Temperance watched Booth wake up, she realised that this was how she always wanted it to be: waking up in his arms, remembering the night before and looking forward to another day together. She suppressed a smile as she recalled that they'd fallen asleep still wearing half their clothes. _Falling asleep at vital moments seemed to be an emerging theme in their relationship._ If she was honest, she was pleased that they hadn't taken things any further last night, frustrating though it undoubtedly was. She wanted the declaration of their feelings to stand as a memory on its own, not be forever mixed up with memories of first time sex. She hid a wicked grin - _plenty of time for that tonight! _Then she sighed as she remembered that she'd promised to start on the identifications at 6:30. She'd set the alarm on her phone for six at the town hall last night - she needed to get up.

She shifted in his arms and looked at him with a wry smile, "Sorry, I need to get up." His face fell, "I said 6:30 remember? I don't want to undo all last night's hard work by being late."

Booth nodded, but pulled her in for a searing kiss. They pulled apart, breathing heavily - eyes darting from face, to chest, to lips. Temperance took a shuddering breath and gathered her willpower. '_I have to get out of bed' _she thought, trying not to look at Booth's stubble shaded face.

Booth realised that she was torn and he couldn't help being pleased that he could distract her from work, _that had to be a first _he thought. Then his good manners reasserted themselves and he opened his arms to release her.

She stood by the bed, tugging her camisole back down into place distractedly. Booth sat up, and her eyes widened as she watched his abdominal muscles bunch. He rubbed his eyes with a hand and smiled at her.

"I'm going to take a shower." She announced.

"Feel free, it's just through there." Booth pointed to the door in the corner.

"Oh." She hesitated, "I.. er..."

Booth laughed, "Go back to your room and use the one in there if you prefer." He got out of bed and stood next to her, taking her hand in his, "It'll be too much temptation if you're in here anyway. You'll never be ready in time."

She blushed at the promise in his voice and looked away. Booth kissed her gently on the forehead and then reached down to pick up her shirt. She took it off him, then picked up her bag and pulled out her key.

As she turned to leave, he reached for her again, pulling her body against his. Their mouths crashed together and the tongues slid and danced.

Temperance could feel desire flaring in both of them again, so she forced herself to pull away and walk towards the door, "I'll be ready in about 10 minutes. See you here?"

Booth nodded silently and abruptly sat on the bed as she left. _Wow, she's hot!'_ He let out a slow breath and he wondered how he was going to get through the day - anticipation was only pleasurable up to a point. He screwed his eyes shut and opened them quickly, as his mind replayed images their passionate kisses, her taut stomach and the swell of her breasts under the skimpy silk top. '_Time for a shower'_ he thought '_and a very, very cold one at that.'_

* * *

By 9:45, Temperance had run through the procedures with each of member of the coroner's staff. The grim setting of the makeshift morgue had dispersed other thoughts from her head. Booth had sat and listened for over an hour, but then had wondered off. She assumed that he was dealing with the sheriff or something. 

She had learnt that another ten graves had been opened the previous day and that all five of the older ones did have the right occupants. They now had the right number of bodies for the remaining number of graves - a total of 35. The local officials were hopeful that they would be moving speedily to final identification and bringing the matter to a close. It appeared that it was unlikely that the Jeffersonian's assistance on identification would be needed, which was a relief as she had been worried that she would find herself with large numbers of bodies to work on. She stifled a yawn and moved towards the exit.

Booth was leaning against the wall opposite the door, waiting for her, chewing his way through a cereal bar. He was clean shaven, and wearing a dark suit and a heavy overcoat. She noticed a few flakes of snow on the coat. He smiled, and offered her a bite.

She held up her hands, still wearing her surgical gloves, and said, "Thanks, I'll pass." He shrugged and ate the last part of the bar.

"How're you getting on?" He asked as they fell into step next to one and other.

Temperance gestured to indicate so-so, "Procedures are done. I've been through it with everyone. I'd like to supervise a couple of identifications..." She paused at a doorway, and Booth pushed it open for her, following her in as she dumped the gloves in a surgical waste bin and then washed her hands, "Shouldn't take too long, then I'm done." She looked at him, "Is there anything we need to stay for?"

Booth shook his head, "Nope and it looks like those blizzards are coming in early. The sooner we can leave the better, or we're going to be stuck here."

Temperance looked at him in alarm and then nodded, "Okay, I'll get on it. I need to see at least three identifications. That can be done by lunchtime. Is that going to be okay?"

Booth considered for a moment, then nodded, "Should be. Snow's still pretty light and it'll be following us back to Washington, not coming to meet us." He smiled encouragingly at her, "I'll collect our bags and check out of the hotel. I'll be back in about half an hour."

She smiled gratefully and held the door open for Booth, before following him out and then going to find her students from earlier. As she walked, she felt a glow of pride that she and Booth had been able to interact on an entirely professional basis. As soon as they had left the hotel, they had slipped back into their normal routine. She was aware of the undercurrent between them, but their behaviour was strictly professional.

Booth too, was pleased that they had picked up their working relationship where they left it yesterday. He was impressed that he seemed to be able to divorce the woman that he wanted to kiss senseless when he was off duty, from his brilliant scientist and partner at work.

As he walked back to the hotel he noticed a florist, with a huge display overflowing with roses and bouquets of pink flowers. There were little hearts stuck on the glass. He paused, frowning, _there's something significant about all that pink... _Then it fell into place. He started to fiddle with his phone, as he walked towards the shop.

* * *

(Somehow this ended up needing another chapter...) 

(TBC)


	8. Chapter 8

Valentine's day has arrived...

* * *

By midday, Temperance had supervised three identifications. One had been textbook and the second adequate, but the approach of the third doctor had been appalling. Dr Rolland had a high opinion of himself and had paid scant attention to the meticulous procedure she had worked out. She stood with folded arms, listening, as he continued to pontificate as to why his approach was better. 

"...and really Dr Brennan, what you fail to understand is that I don't have time to dot every 'i' and cross every 't'. In this case there is only one possible identity for this body because of their height." Dr Rolland gave an abrupt nod to emphasise his point and then pushed his glasses more firmly on his nose, "I can't see how you can possibly object."

Out of the corner of her eye, Temperance saw the door being pushed open and Booth quietly stepped in. Her mouth twitched in a half smile towards him and he raised an eyebrow in the direction of Dr Rolland. Temperance glanced up at the ceiling rolling her eyes and she could see Booth hiding a grin.

For his part, Dr Rolland was irritated that he appeared to being ignored, "Did you hear what I said?" he demanded testily.

Temperance turned towards him, "Yes, Dr Rolland, I did hear you; and no I don't agree with you." He looked affronted but she wasn't going to give him chance to launch into another extended complaint, "Your work this morning was sloppy and your assessment skewed by your attempts to justify the hypothesis that you postulated as to the identity of the body before even examining it. Such an approach is not scientifically sound. It is lazy, in these circumstances foolhardy. The procedures that have been prepared for this identification process are simple, clear and mirror accepted national standards. If following them, and dotting 'i's as you refer to it, poses a difficulty for you, then I am afraid that I will have to recommend that you are removed from the case." She folded her arms and looked at him challengingly.

Dr Rolland's face had gone puce, "How dare you!" he exclaimed, "You have no right to question my professional competence."

Booth hid a grin. The scuttlebutt among the locals was that Rolland, as the town's only doctor, was a pompous ass who was used to unquestioning deference to his medical credentials. _A pity he'd tried to take on an expert in another field and tell them that he knew better. _Temperance's hands were on her hips and Booth winced. He decided he'd better intervene before Dr Rolland said something that Temperance would make him regret.

"Dr Rolland." He said offering his hand and then letting it drop to his side again as the doctor presented a gloved hand, "Just so that we're clear, the FBI has placed Dr Brennan in complete control of this aspect of the case and we have specifically asked her to ascertain the competence of those carrying out the identification work and their adherence to the procedures that have been designed." He paused and flashed his usual charming grin, "My advice is to follow the procedure."

Dr Rolland gritted his teeth, "If I agree to follow the procedure?"

Booth shrugged and looked at Temperance.

"I'd need to see you put it into practice." She replied.

Dr Rolland fell silent. Booth guessed that he was weighing up what effect walking out, or even been thrown out, would have on his reputation locally. Maintaining his image as the indispensable local medical expert won out and he nodded.

"Fine" Temperance said, "I suggest we take a short break and start work at," she looked at her watch, "12:30."

Dr Rolland gathered up the remaining tatters of his dignity and stalked out.

Before Booth could open his mouth, Temperance said, "Don't say anything. I have to spend another hour or so in his company and then I never, ever, want to see him again."

Booth chuckled, "I get the impression the feeling is mutual," He looked more serious, "He is competent to leave on the case, isn't he?"

Temperance nodded in frustration, "Just lazy. And chauvinistic."

"Want a coffee?" Booth asked.

"Sure." She replied as they made their way towards the coffee machine. As they sat on a couple battered arms chairs in small staff room sipping the bitter liquid, Booth brought Temperance up to speed on his discussions with the Sheriff and the other FBI agents, "...They're all set to leave. The investigation into the administration of the cemetery is on track. Once you've got the good doctor and his colleagues toeing the line, we're good to go."

"I'll be done in an hour, the other two were fine." She drained the rest of her coffee and hauled herself out of the chair, "May as well get on with it."

* * *

At quarter past two Temperance pushed the outer door of the hospital open and was surprised to find that a couple of inches of snow were already lying on the ground and large flakes were swirling thickly out of the sky. Her eyes scanned the parking lot and she spotted Booth's SUV in near the entrance. She walked over, but was confused to find it locked, Booth had stuck his head around the door just before two and said that he was parked outside - _where had he gone? _She looked around again. She didn't want to go back into the hospital and risk running into the odious Dr Rolland, but her coat was already dappled with snowflakes. 

"Hey!" A familiar voice called, Temperance swung round and saw Booth emerging from through the whiteness across the road, carrying a couple of paper bags. He shifted the bags into one hand and pressed the button on his key fob. With a clunk the doors unlocked and Temperance wasted no time clambering in. A minute or so later, Booth arrived. He tried to shake off the worst of the snow before getting in.

He turned to her with a grin, "Sorry, hope you weren't waiting too long." She shook her head. He held up the bags, "Provisions. Figured we wouldn't want to hang around to eat out the way this lot is coming down." He gestured out the widow at the snow.

Temperance smiled back, "I'm starving - what d'ya get?"

Booth pulled out the tray between the two seats and started to empty the bags, "Decent coffee for me, hot chocolate for you." He placed them on the tray. "Two toasted paninis, still hot." He paused, "And some doughnuts."

Temperance felt a little surge of pleasure that he'd remembered that she liked hot chocolate, then said, "Have we got time to eat these now?" Then she looked round in confusion, "What happened to Davies and O'Sullivan?"

Booth answered the first question by picking up his sandwich and taking a bite after swallowing he said, "They've gone back already. New case; lousy weather. They hired a car." He paused, "Just us on the way back."

Temperance shivered slightly at the emphasis he placed on 'us', but decided to concentrate on her sandwich. They ate in companionable silence, when they had finished, Temperance packed up the rubbish and Booth pulled out onto the road.

The driving conditions were awful and it was a slow ride home. They chatted for the first hour, but Booth could see that Temperance's eyes were getting heavier. He reached across and touched her knee, "Get some sleep if you like."

She looked at him and then nodded, curling up in her seat. Booth looked across at her and smiled - _damn she looked cute asleep. _He checked his watch, gauging how long the journey was likely to take.

* * *

Temperance's unconscious mind registered that the engine noise had died and they had stopped moving. She stirred, rubbing her eyes with her hands. She blinked a couple of times and looked out. It was dark and there was still a lot of snow on the ground. _The street looked familiar -_ w_here were they?_ She had just realised that the driver's seat was empty when the passenger door opened and Booth smiled at her, "Hello sleeping beauty. We're home." 

Temperance blinked again - _home where?_

"Come on, let's get inside." Booth was making shoo-ing gestures towards the sidewalk. Temperance tried to shake herself awake and realised that they were parked outside Booth's house. She glanced quickly at her watch, it was already after seven.

Booth was watching her affectionately as she tried to get her bearings, he caught her hand, "Dinner's at my place tonight." He thought for a moment and then leant in and kissed her lingeringly, "It's outside working hours now." He explained, as though daring her to object.

The feel of his lips on hers brought her fully awake and she stretched, before jumping out of the car. Booth closed the door behind her and locked it.

"What about my bag?" She asked.

"It's in the hall, I've unloaded everything." He put an arm around her shoulders and they headed towards his front door, hips brushing together as they walked.

Booth's house was warm and welcoming. The decor was classic, plain, soothing colours and lots of light, natural wood. He led her through the hallway and into the lounge area, which had an oversized couch, two big armchairs, and massive leather beanbag. Temperance smiled to herself, somehow she imagined that Booth would spend most of his time slouched in the beanbag, and the Playstation controller lying next to it only confirmed her suspicions.

"Do you want a drink?" He asked, when she nodded, "Coffee, juice, beer?"

"Coffee would be great thanks." She stopped for moment, "Could I use the bathroom to freshen up a bit?" She wrinkled her nose, "I've got that gritty feeling from sleeping in the car."

"Sure," Booth disappeared out the door they had come in through and returned a moment later with her bag, "Thought you might want some of your stuff, follow me."

She smiled in appreciation and followed Booth, the bathroom was in the far corner of the single-story house, Booth handed her a towel from a cupboard and handed the bag over, "It's all yours, I'll sort out dinner out." Booth headed into his bedroom and changed into jeans and a shirt.

Temperance closed the door softly behind her and looked around the bathroom. It was sparkling white and blue. Very clean and not much clutter. She filled the sink with water to wash her face, wondering if she should change clothes.

In the kitchen, Booth opened the fridge. Inside were several neatly lablled packages. _Thank you Sid,_ he thought. He'd called Sid earlier and explained that he wanted a special dinner. Booth tipped sauces into pans on the stove and put a few packages in the oven. Sid had agreed readily enough once he'd realised that Booth would be sharing the meal with Bones, Booth smiled slightly, in fact his friend had signed off the call by saying 'it's about damned time - how slow on the uptake are you two?' While the food heated through, he got out plates and cutlery and set them out on the table.

Quarter of an hour later Temperance emerged, looking refreshed and a lot more alert. She'd changed into jeans and a fitted green top. She'd decided to be daring with the top and had left the last couple of buttons undone, nothing trashy - just a hint of cleavage - she thought Angela would approve.

She stood in the doorway watching Booth as he busied himself around the kitchen. She had to admit that the jeans provided a very pleasing rear view. After a minute of ogling, she tore her eyes away and took in the stacks of dishes and spills of various colours on the surfaces - _what is it with guys and needing to use every pan available when cooking? _Still, she had to admit it smelt great.

"Need a hand?" She asked.

Booth turned round with a smile, which widened when he took in the jeans and sexy top, "You look great." He walked towards her, Temperance could feel her heart starting to beat faster under the intensity of his gaze. He came to a halt right in front of her and leant into whisper in her ear, "Ready?"

_Ready for what? _With his warm breath tickling her neck, she could think of several things, and dinner was nowhere near the top of the list. Seemingly of their own accord her arms slid around his neck, and he began tracing gentle kisses along her jaw line. Booth's hands settled at her waist and pulled her closer towards him.

A shrill ringing noise shattered the moment, and they both jumped. Booth looked at her ruefully, "Dinner's ready..."

She ignored the question in his tone and said, "Let's eat." She had to laugh at the disappointed look on his face, "Oh come on Booth, I'm hungry, and anyway a little anticipation won't kill you."

He sighed, "Wanna bet on that?" Then he smiled and took her hand, "Come on - Sid would kill me if we didn't eat this anyway."

"Sid?" She said sitting at the table and breathing in the wonderful aromas from the dishes Booth placed in front of her.

"Uh huh. I wanted to make you something good for dinner." He walked back over the oven and brought out a couple more plates, "but the cupboard was bare. Sid'll do takeout on very special occasions." Booth disappeared into the hallway.

She called after him, "And this qualifies?"

"Sure," Booth said, reappearing in the doorway, he paused and then brought his arm out from behind his back holding a stunning bouquet of white and palest shell pink roses, peonies and camellias, "Happy Valentines day."

Temperance looked at the flowers in silent amazement.

Booth walked over, raising an eyebrow questioningly, "Do you like them?"

She took the bouquet off him and smiled in delight, "They're beautiful - thank you so much." She reached up to brush his cheek and then pulled his head down for a kiss. They slowly pulled apart, gazing at one and other.

Booth took the flowers from her again, "I'll put these in some water. You start eating." He filled the sink with water and placed the flowers in it, propped up against the draining board, then he sat down opposite Temperance and started to eat. The food was delicious, but they were hardly conscious of what they were eating.

Booth had never really thought of food as being erotic, but watching Temperance's lips as she ate was making him rapidly revise that opinion. _This is torture, _he thought, _but in a good way. _

Temperance was aware that Booth was watching her, his brown eyes never leaving her face, and it was making her tingle all over.

"That was great." Temperance said as she put her chopsticks down and pushed her plate away, she gave a small grin, "Coffee?"

Booth stood up and nodded, "You go on," He pointed towards the lounge, "I'll bring it through."

Five minutes later he placed two mugs on the table in front of Temperance.

He smiled and sat down next to her on the couch putting an arm around her, "At least you had the courtesy not to fall asleep!"

She quirked her eyebrows at him, "I was tempted, but I had a good snooze in the car," She reached out across and laced the fingers on her right hand through his, "I thought it might be worth staying a awake."

Booth smiled slightly and leant towards her, "Yeah?"

"Uh huh, I..." Her words were cut off as Booth's lips found hers.

The kiss was gentle, lips moving softly together. Booth's free hand cupped her cheek and then traced the outline of her face. Temperance sighed into his mouth as she relaxed into his embrace.

Booth's eyes were closed, but his other senses were taking over. In his arms he could feel her soft, warm skin and he breathed in the faint scent of soap and ginger and an essence that was hers alone. He tasted her mouth against his and heard her soft moans as they kissed and drew closer together.

Temperance's eyes felt heavy, but she continued to watch him from under drooping lashes, unable to tear her gaze from the expression of rapt attention on his face, and the knowledge that, in that moment, she was the sum total of his world.

Their hands began to move more freely and Temperance shifted closer, pressing her curves to fit against the hard planes of his body.

Their kisses grew more urgent and Booth's hands tangled in her hair and pulling her closer. She reached up and stroked his face, enjoying the roughness of the stubble on his jaw against her hand. His kisses trailed from her lips to the hollow of her throat, and then slowly back. One hand slid down her arm and found its way under her shirt to stroke her back.

Suddenly, Temperance shifted in his arms, and moved to sit straddled across his lap, pushing him back until he was sat braced against the back of the couch. His eyes darkened with desire as she stared down at him, slowly undoing the buttons on his shirt. He watched her lips curve into a triumphant smile as she pushed back his shirt to reveal his naked chest, before he reached for her and crushed her lips against his. His hands skimmed along her sides, ghosting against her breasts causing her to shiver and moan slightly. He pressed the advantage, his tongue gaining entry into her mouth and pulling her closer still.

They continued to kiss, tongues probing and exploring. Temperance's hands roved across his chest, wanting to feel every inch of skin. She broke the kiss, to move her lips along his jaw and then nip his earlobe. At the same time she shifted in his lap, pressing hard against his groin and he groaned in response. His eyes swept around the room, "Hold on" he said huskily and she linked her arms around his neck. He took a firm hold and stood up.

Temperance's mind was having difficulty processing the fact that Booth seemed intent on carrying her to his bed; but she didn't have time to think anymore than _a good thing he doesn't have to go up any stairs_ before he was pushing open the door to his bedroom and lying her gently on the bed.

He smiled down at her, discarding his shirt, and then kneeling over her, he slowly traced kisses along her collarbone as he unbuttoned her top. He pushed it off her shoulders and trailed his tongue along the edge of her bra. She moaned again and arching her back and then pulled his head to hers and kissed him deeply.

As they kissed, they tugged at belts and jeans, and soon they were lying discarded by the bed.

Their kisses became more feverish, as their legs twined together, with only the wisp of her lacy panties and his boxer shorts between them. Booth cupped her breasts and she pressed against him. Their exploration continued, until, at last, they could wait no longer. Booth's eyes sought hers, seeking permission, she responded by using her hand to guide him.

They moved together rhythmically. There was no need to speak, no need to think, they gave into the demands of their joined bodies.

Release came, finally, and they both cried out, holding the other in a crushing grip. After a few moments, Booth opened his eyes, his forehead resting against hers. She smiled, as he moved to ease the weight from her, and laced her fingers through his again.

"I love you Seeley." She said, kissing him.

She felt him smile against her lips and pull her into a hug. His arms locked against her back and he tucked her head under his chin, as he pressed a kissed into her red-gold hair she heard his whispered, "I love you, Tempe."

(Fades to dark)

* * *

(Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading. 

Apologies if the ending was a little short, but the I wanted to keep within the ratings permitted on the site.)


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